The Legend of Zelda: Magic Bonds
by Zophorus
Summary: Shortly after the events of Skyward Sword, Link and Zelda find themselves on a quest to discover Zelda's magic abilities. Can she master them in time to stop the return of evil?
1. Chapter 1

_**CHAPTER 1**_

My ears perked up as I heard a scream deeper in the forest. _Zelda!_ I sprinted towards the source of the noise. We were already fairly deep in the Faron Woods. Even though I defeated Demise, there were still plenty of monsters running rampant throughout the forest. Anything could happen out here!

I climbed a tree in order to get a better viewpoint. In the distance, I could see Zelda's golden blonde hair shimmering in the distance. She was moving frantically. _She's being chased by something._ I jumped out of the tree, using my trusty sail cloth to float safely to the ground. I picked up my sprint again to dash over to my panicked friend.

"Link, help me!" She called out to me when she saw me approaching. I ran to her, sweeping her up in my arms and continued to run. "What's going on!?" I asked as I ran frantically to find safety. "I don't see anything Zelda!" She pointed at the ground behind us. "Get rid of that thing!"

I looked back to see the threat. I spotted the terrible beast that threatened her. It had large claws, pointy teeth hanging from its jaw, and large ears. I stopped in my tracks, and nearly dropped Zelda from laughing so hard

"Scared of a little field mouse, Princess?" She refused to release from my arms as she hit my chest. "I don't care what it is! Kill that thing!" I rolled my eyes and laughed. With Zelda still clutching onto me, I ran at the mouse. With one mighty kick, I sent the poor creature flying. "Anything for you, Princess."

She finally let her feet touch the ground and released me. "Stop calling me that! I'm not a princess. I'm the same girl you've always known." She folded her arms and looked away.

"Oh come on, you know I'm just kidding. And after all, everyone sees you as our leader." I knew she hated being called Princess, but after we settled down here on the Surface and started building a settlement, everyone seeked guidance from Zelda, so I decided to call her Princess. "Don't you think Princess Zelda sounds fitting to you?"

"I most certainly do not." She turned back towards me and pointed angrily at me. "I just want you to see me as the same person I've always been."

"I do see you that way," I protested. "What's wrong with a little nickname? Would you rather me call you Hylia? Or perhaps you'd prefer 'Goddess,' or maybe 'Spirit Maiden?'

"Why can't we just keep it as Zelda? Pretend that nothing's changed?"

"Well there's no way we can just pretend that nothing's changed. After all we've been through? There's no denying it."

She lowered her finger and placed her hands behind her back. Her expression switched from an annoyed one to more of a soft look of longing.

"I know," she replied softly. "I just wish that some things didn't have to change."

I was about to ask her what she meant by that, until she took off running back to the village. "Come on Link," she called, "we have work to do."


	2. Chapter 2

_**CHAPTER 2**_

Zelda didn't slow down until we were right outside of the village. A new structure had been built at the edge of the village; a wooden arch with letters carved into it. _Kakariko_ , it read. A deep, all-to-recognizable voice greeted us. "Zelda, Link, what do you think?" A large man with a ...unique style of red hair appeared out of the tree line.

Zelda gave her usual warming smile. "Hello Groose. What's this you've made?"

He made a proud snort noise. "It's the entrance to the village. I wanted to name it _Grooseville_ , but the others protested. I don't know why. Grooseville seemed like the perfect name to me!" He chuckled. "To make everyone happy I just came up with the name Kakariko. Everyone seemed to agree on that. It means 'everlasting peace.' Thought of it myself!"

Zelda clasped her hands and giggled. "That's great Groose! Great job! It's a lovely name."

Groose gave her a smug grin. "I thought so too. So what have you two been doing all this time alone in the woods? I thought I heard a scream earlier.

I decided to butt in. "Oh we were gathering some fruit as we explored, until Zelda got scared off by a little mouse."

Groose couldn't help but chuckle. Zelda started turning red and looked like she was steaming. "What's so funny about it? Rats are disgusting, horrible little creature."

"I'm sorry Zelda," Groose apologized. "It's just… after battling with monsters and demons, you're scared by something that small."

"I really wish you both would stop teasing me." She pouted. I wrapped her in a hug. "I'm sorry Princess. I'll stop teasing you." She shoved me away and ran off towards her little hut.

Groose and I looked at each other. I scratched my head as I said "It looks like I went a little too far. I should go apologize." I handed him a basket of fruit from my bag. "Would you mind dropping these off for me?"

Groose smiled. "Sure thing Link. Go do what you need to do."

I got along much better with Groose since my adventure. I couldn't stand the guy before. But ever since he helped me defeat the Imprisoned, he's grown on me. He's not nearly as egotistical as he was before we left Skyloft.

I headed to Zelda's hut. I knocked on the door and let myself in before she could tell me to go away. Zelda was sitting at her little desk in the corner of the room. She quickly shifted through some paper and turned to face me. She took a deep breath and sighed. "I'm sorry I'm being so irrational Link. I don't mean to get so mad. It's just… I'm going through alot right now."

I shook my head. "No, it's my fault. I've been teasing you quite a bit. I'm sorry… What did you mean by you're going through a lot? Is there something you want to talk about?"

She seemed to withdrawal from me, turning away and shooing me off with her hand. "It's personal, Link. I don't want to talk about."

I approached her, laying a hand on her shoulder. "I don't understand what's going on, but you know you can talk to me about anything. I'll always be here for you. I'll be in my house if you want to talk. Just… know that you'll never be alone, okay?"

I didn't wait for an answer. I turned and stopped just before exiting. I took one last look at my Princess. She still refused to look at me. I gave a hefty sigh as I left her alone to her lonely home. I returned to my own home as I had said. I climbed the ladder to my little tree house. Everyone else's home was planted firmly on the ground. I liked having my house high in a tree. I liked overlooking the village. It comforts me, being able to overlook everything and see any possible dangers to the newly dubbed Kakariko. I scanned the village. Groose and his buddies Strich and Cawlin were working on some kind of project in the center of town. They were digging away, probably goofing off looking for buried treasure or something. Off near the edge of the village, Zelda's father Gaebora was instructing a few knights to build fences around the village. Pipit and his new girlfriend Karane were busy helping Dovos till a field for crops. Since Dovos has always been so obsessed with food, we elected him to be in charge of the crops, promising that he would be allowed to keep a large portion to satisfy his own hunger. Off near the outskirts of Kakariko, Dodoh the clown was permitted to build his wacky games. Gondo was hard at work with the help of his little robot Scrapper to build some mechanical monstrosity of a workhouse for him to do more tinkering. The other Skyloftians, now called "surface dwellers" were all hard at work building houses for each of them. It's been pretty inconvenient for them to call for their loftwings to return them to Skyloft at night, but it's still too dangerous down here at night.

I went inside my room and layed my gear propped up against my bed. I layed back onto my bed and stared at the ceiling. _What's going on with Zelda? Why has she been acting so distant lately?_ I found myself pondering these thoughts until I ended up dozing off.

My sleep was accompanied by a nightmare, something I haven't had since my quest. The vision opened with a scene of the bright green forest. It was a peaceful scene, with woodland creatures running around. Everything was calm, until a person ran through the scene. The person wore a brown hood and cloak, making it impossible to identify who it was. As the person ran through, destruction followed. Trees caught fire and fell, the ground began to shake and crack.

The scene shifted. I could see myself in my fighting stance, sword and shield drawn. My viewpoint shifted back into my own eyes. Standing in front of me was a cloud of darkness. It seemed to radiate pure power. It was stronger than anything I had faced before, even stronger than Demise or the Imprisoned. I couldn't see a physical form at all, just layers of shadowy, purple darkness. I did what I do best; I swung my sword at it. My sword passed through seamlessly, striking nothing. My effort had angered the shadow, causing it to howl like the angry winds of a hundred tornadoes. I had been engulfed in the shadows. I could feel the life draining from me, even in this dream. I dropped to my knees, no longer feeling the strength to stand. This was something that I couldn't beat. I felt my body collapse and be overwhelmed with darkness.

I awoke to a pounding on my door. "Link, get up!" I shook my head groggily. "Come on you lazy boy! Wake up!" The voice belonged to Zelda. I jogged over to the door and let her in. She shook her head as she walked in. "You're always sleeping, even in the middle of the day. I've been trying to wake you up for half an hour now!"

I rubbed a hand on the back of my head. "I'm sorry Zelda. Thank you for waking me when you did. I didn't want to see how that dream was going to end."

Zelda suddenly looked very concerned. "Link have you… Have you been having nightmares again?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "That was the first one I've had in awhile. I'm sure it was nothing."

"Don't be so sure," she cautioned, "we still don't know about the Surface. There could be other monsters that we don't know about. Do I need to remind you what Demise said?"

I shuddered. I could never forget those words. After I defeated him, his final words were a curse. A curse to haunt Zelda and I for all eternity. To have his hatred reborn in an endless cycle, that wherever Zelda and I are, he will be there. "No, I remember."

Zelda looked like she was about to say something, but instead bit her lip and remained silent.

I raised an eyebrow curiously. "What is it? Have you been having nightmares?"

She lowered her head. "Not exactly.. I-"

A voice called out in the distance. "Link! Zelda! We could use some help down here!" The voice belonged to Fledge. He used to be the weakest one in Skyloft, but after some determined workouts (with the help of a couple stamina potions), he quickly became the strongest one in Kakariko, stronger even than me or Groose!

Zelda grabbed my hand and started pulling me out, but not before I grabbed my sword and shield. I never leave home without them.

We went outside to see a frightful event; Kakariko was under attack from bokoblins and moblins! There were fifty bokoblins coming from each compass direction. They were in a formation of a five monsters in each row and shield moblins in every other row of their formation. There has never been an invasion of this scale before. There have been rag-tag teams of ten to twenty bokoblins with maybe a shield moblin or two, and they were never organized. This was much different. I glanced back at Zelda. "Stay here."

Before she could protest, I ran to the edge of my deck and front flipped over the railing. I performed an expertly executed roll as I hit the ground. I drew my sword as I began running towards the southern side. As I ran, I shouted orders to the others. "Groose, you take care of the North with your bombs. Fledge, gather the knights and take care of the West." I growled to myself as I realized that there would be nobody else to cover the East. I would have to work fast so I can go cover that end as well.

I went to work slicing through the first wave of bokoblins. They only wielded their regular iron blades, so they weren't much of a threat to me. With one horizontal slice, I wiped out three in a row. I turned to face the next bokoblin and did a quick vertical slice from the ground up to slash right through it. The final bokoblin of this squad was ready to strike. I quickly deflected his blow with my Hylian shield and performed a jab through its head to take care of that one.

The next squad was made entirely of shield moblins. _No problem!_ I sprinted towards the middle one, giving myself more than enough momentum to climb his shield. As I leaped over its head, I performed a downward thrust, causing me to pole-vault over him as he fell. The other moblins were too slow as I quickly did a spin attack, which also wiped out the entire next squad of bokoblins. _Three rows down, seven to go._ The next row of shield moblins did something I've never seen before; they formed a circle to keep their backs covered. "Ha! That's _almost_ a good idea! But there's a major flaw." I preceded to dash up one of their shields and land right in the middle of their circle. With one more spin attack, the moblins went down. _I'm taking too long with this. They're going to get through the East side at any second!_ There was nothing I could do but focus on the targets in front of me. The row of bokoblins in front of me tried another new circling tactic, this time circling around me! They held their swords in a vertical guard, preventing me from just doing another spin attack. I was able to stab one bokoblin, but the rest were ready to attack. With no time to dodge, I did the only thing I could think of; I dropped down onto my back and raised my shield above me. All of their blows struck the shield at once, the blow too much for me to handle. The metal shield slammed into my torso, leaving me dazed.

"Link!" Zelda called out to me. I shook off my dizziness and rolled forward, just in time to avoid another strike. The bokoblins were too close to each other. Because they had attempted to stop swinging since I moved, they panicked and managed to hit each other! Their own foolishness wiped them out. _They've never been known for their intelligence._ When I turned to face the rest of the formation, I saw that they had another surprise for me. Bokoblin archers climbed atop the shield moblins. _No problem, that just leave the moblins open to attack!_ So I thought, until the next row of moblins moved forward, guarding the otherwise defenceless moblins. The remaining five shield bokoblins filled in around the archers. The remaining row of shield moblins then surrounded the sword bokoblins.

 _This is bad! Those archers would be able to hit me without any casualty to their own ranks. If I try to leap over the shield moblins, those swords bokoblins inside will be able to strike!_ The archers launched a volley of arrows at me. I rolled to my left, and raised my shield. I had gained enough distance so that only the arrow of the far left bokoblin hit my shield. I didn't know what to do. There was no way I could get a successful hit on any of the monsters. That's when I heard a familiar _SHWOOSH_ of an arrow. The sound that came only from a bow as powerful as mine. The singular arrow was aimed so precisely and with such power that if went through the heads of every single archer. I looked up back towards my house to see Zelda adjusting her aim. Then she did something unexpected; she knocked three arrows at once into the bow! With unbelievable skill, she fired the arrows, turning the sword bokoblins on the inside of the formation into dust.

"Thanks for the assist, Princess!" My cocky smile grew across my face yet again. Once again, I mounted a shield moblin, jumped to the middle, and did one final spin attack to wipe them out. _Now to go take care of the East._ I dashed off in that direction, only to find there was nothing there. There were signs of a battle, as there were craters where bombs must have went off. No signs of any other monsters though. I ran to go check on the other groups.

Groose and his pals had successfully blown the monsters to smithereens on his end. I ran to the West to assist the knights. They still had quite a few monsters left to fend off. They had made up their archer-moblin formation as they had done against me. I ran over to Fledge who was starting to lose confidence. "Don't worry buddy, I can take care of this. But I need your help," I told him. He looked at me curiously as I told him my plan.

As crazy as the plan was, he didn't object. Fledge was about to show off just how strong he was. I readied my sword and shield. I nodded to him, signaling that I was ready. "I hope you're sure about this," he said. He grabbed my tunic, and threw me right at the archers. It was a perfect throw. I landed on top of the shield moblins that they stood on. I knocked them all off with a quick horizontal slice. The sword bokoblins tried to strike at me, but ended up striking the unguarded shield moblins. As they crumbled to dust beneath me, I did a mid-air vertical spin attack, wiping out the remaining sword bokoblins.

Everyone in Kakiriko all gathered around the statue of the Goddess. Many people cheered and gave us thanks for defending the village. It was in agreement that we would hold a celebration for fending off such a huge horde of enemies with no casualties. All was well until Gaebora came up and whispered in my ear. "We need to talk."

I met with him behind the statue at midnight as he requested. "Do you know why I asked you to come here?"

I nodded. "The monsters are becoming smarter. They're attacking in greater numbers and are using tactics we've never seen before.

The old headmaster grunted and said, "while that is quite disturbing, no. I need to talk to you about my daughter. Has Zelda told you anything… unusual lately?"

I thought back to the events from earlier that day, how she acted about the nightmares. "Well not exactly. She asked me if I was having nightmares, and she's been acting a little strange lately… Why? Is something wrong?"

Gaebora sighed. "Oh that foolish girl. She's afraid of worrying you. We've been receiving some frightening news lately, and it is indeed related to the increase of monsters lately. But that's not all. She's been receiving letters lately from someone saying that she is needed to do something. She won't tell me what's going on. I was hoping she would confide in you. However, if she won't even tell you what's going, it has to be something quite terrible indeed. We need to find out-"

Before he could finish, there was the sound of an explosion in the direction of Kakariko. We ran to the village to see what was going on. When we got there, I dropped to my knees and felt overwhelmed with emotions. Zelda's house was no longer there. The ground where it once stood was burning. There were no remains left. Zelda was gone.


	3. Chapter 3

_**CHAPTER 3**_

I couldn't believe it. After all that we've went through together, and just like that, my best friend is gone. I cried out "ZELDAAAA!" I ran over to where her house used to be, tears pouring from my eyes. _She has to be here! She has to be okay! Please be okay!_ The burning ground left no clues of Zelda. My mind started racing. _Maybe she escaped. Maybe she sensed it and got away!_ I ran off into Faron Woods in search of my princess. Gaebora yelled "Link, come back!" which I completely ignored. I had to find Zelda. I had to!

I searched the forest in vain until dawn. I hung my head low as I sulked my way back to Kakariko. The villagers started coming out of their houses. "Link, what happened? Where's Zelda?" They all kept asking. I started balling again and ran to my house. I noticed that my door was cracked open. _Someone's been in here._ I drew my sword before entering my house, ready to lash out at whoever may be planning to ambush me. I took a cautious step in, filled with anger. I scanned my one-room house for anything out of place. It had appeared nothing had been touched, until I looked at my desk. The secret panel on the underside of the desk was open! My magical pouch that contained all my weapons besides my sword and shield were gone. I felt around the inside of the drawer to check for anything unseen. I felt some sort of paper against the top of the drawer. I pulled it out and examined it.

The parchment was a letter. I recognized the handwriting. _Zelda!_

I started to read it. _Link, by now you know that I'm gone. I'm sorry to do this to you, but I can't risk getting you involved. I took your gear so that you couldn't search for me. The sword and shield on your back are fakes, and will break with a single use. I'm so sorry to do this to you. There's something that I need to do. My quest as the Spirit Maiden is far from over. There's an evil force rising once again, one that cannot be defeated by physical means. It can only be defeated by magic, which means only I can defeat it. Tell the others that I died in the fire so they don't have to worry about me either. Link, I don't want you to end up getting hurt. This isn't your burden to bare. Please, don't come looking for me. And in case I don't make it back… I wanted to tell you that I-_ The rest was scratched out and illegible.

 _So she is alive! She's out there somewhere risking her life. Does she really think that I'm not going to track her down?_ A newfound energy coursed through my veins. All was not lost! I can still find her. But how? I thought back to my previous quest. Whenever I was unsure of what to do and how to search for something, Fi was always there to help me. Now her spirit is sleeping an eternal rest in the Master Sword inside the forest temple. _There has to be some way…_

"Sparrot!" I said aloud, "He can help me!" Sparrot was a fortune teller in Skyloft. Using his crystal ball, he can look into the future. Maybe he would be able to give me some sort of hint as to where Zelda went.

I went outside and looked to the skies. The cloud barrier has been slowly closing for months, but there was still enough space to fly through. I closed my eyes and mentally called out for my bird. _I need you!_ After a few moments, a large crimson Loftwing soared down from the sky. I hopped down to greet it.

"Hey old buddy, did you miss me?"

 _SCREECH!_

The bird rubbed its head against my hand. "I'll take that as a yes. Alright buddy, I need to go back to Skyloft. Can you take me to the bazaar?"

 _SQUAAA!_ It agreed.

I hopped on the Crimson Loftwing's soft, feathery back. In an instant, the ground below me disappeared as we zoomed through the sky. It took only a few moments to reach Skyloft. My Crimson Loftwing's speed is unmatched by any other Loftwing. As we flew over the bazaar, I leaped off the bird's back. I pulled out my trusty Sail Cloth from my pocket. I always kept it separate from the rest of my gear because it was a special gift from Zelda. I opened it up, allowing to slow my descent to the ground. Upon landing, I immediately went into the bazaar.

When I entered, everyone cheered. "HEY LINK! WELCOME!" They all cheered. "Hey everyone, guess it's been awhile," I announced. "Don't mind me. I won't be here for long." I walked over to where Sparrot's fortune-telling booth was. The strange little man sat there, waving his hands around his precious crystal ball. "Ah, Link. I was expecting you. I foresaw your arrival. What I couldn't see, is the reason WHY you've come to me."

I let out a weary sigh. "Keep it quiet. I don't want everyone freaking out about it," I told him quietly.

The little man gave a sly smile and said, "Don't worry Link, it's a secret to everyone." He chuckled to himself, as though he told a thousand-year old joke.

I leaned in close to him. "Zelda has gone missing. She ran away without saying a word. She wrote me a letter. It said something along the lines of some evil force rising and how only she could stop it. I need to find her."

"These eyes see many things. Let us gaze into my crystal ball and see all that can be seen." Dodos stared into his tiny ball, waving his hands mystically. "I see… Nothing."

I just stared at him. "Nothing? What do you mean you see nothing?"

"Shadow blocks all visions of the future or present. Zelda cannot be seen. I am sorry Link. I wished to be of more help to you."

I stomped my foot in frustration. _How am I supposed to find her now?_ I pulled out the letter that she had left me. "How could she leave me with no clues? She has to know that I will find her."

Dodos looked at me quizzically. "What's that you're holding? Is it not a clue?"

I shook my head. "There's nothing written here that can help me. Take a look." I handed him the letter.

As he scanned the letter, a troublesome look grew on his face. "I'm sorry Link. Are you sure there were no other letters?"

"I'm positive. She left it in a place only I would know…" I scratched my head as a thought occurred to me. "You said you couldn't see the present or the future. What about the past?"

He scratched his chin. "It's possible. But I would need to know what to see, and I need to hold a physical connection to the past."

"You're holding it. Gaebora told me that Zelda had been receiving letters from someone. She refused to tell anybody what the letters said. Can you look back and see those letters?"

"Ho ho ho! Such a smart boy you are!" He again stared into the crystal ball and waved his hands around. "Ah, yes yes, I see. She's been receiving letters from a mysterious postman at night."

"Can you see what the letters say?" I suggested.

"We're getting there! I have to watch the events play out. Zelda is bringing a letter inside… She's opening it up. She- oh dear."

"What? What's going on? Dodos!"

"That is troubling indeed." He nodded understandingly. "Link, I'm sorry to say this, but Zelda is right. You mustn't go looking for her. You will surely perish. This is something that cannot do. This task is for Zelda, and for Zelda alone."

I shook my head violently. "No no no! I need to find her! I don't care if it kills me. I just need to know that she's safe. That's all that matters to me. Now tell me where to find her!"

Dodos nodded once again. "Still so courageous. Still so willing to put your life on the line for her. I understand your plight and I will oblige. However you must know that this is truly something that Zelda must do. She has a long road ahead of her, and in the end, you may grow to fear her, and yourself. Do you understand that?

"Yes, yes, please. Just tell me how to find her."

"She is heading to a secret temple in the place known as the Faron Woods. It is not the same temple that you know of. This one remains hidden beneath the Earth. How you will find it… I don't know. According to the letter that Zelda received, it says that she would be able to find it by focusing her senses. Maybe you can do the same."

I laughed enthusiastically, happy that I at least had a place to begin. I shook the fortune teller's hand. "Thank you so much Dodos! You saved the day. Now I can go save Zelda." I turned to rush out the door when he called out to me.

"And where do you think you're going without a weapon? I saw Zelda give you fakes. Are you trying to get yourself killed?"

I stopped and ran back to the fortune teller's booth. He casually laughed, saying "Oh always so in a rush that you fail to prepare yourself. Isn't that how Girihim nearly bested you in the Skyview?

I gritted my teeth as visions of the fight flashed through my head. The demon lord Girihim had attacked me in rage due to Zelda escaping his clutches. I was overconfident at the start of the fight. I had breezed through the Skyview temple with ease, so I didn't think the demon lord would be much of a threat. Not realizing just how powerful he was, I didn't have a shield equipped. Since it was made of wood, I was afraid it would shatter if overused, so I decided I would keep it in my pouch until I felt that I needed it. I quickly realized how fast and powerful Girihim's attacks were, and had to spend a bit of the fight just running and dodging his strikes until I could fish it out of my pouch. When I finally got it out, I raised it just in time to block one of his attacks. Just as I had feared, the shield began to break after the singular hit. I then had to rummage through my disorganized pouch to find a potion to repair the shield. Needless to say, a lot of trouble could have been avoided had I simply prepared myself.

"You're right," I acknowledged, "But we don't have any weapons to spare right now. Monsters are attacking much more frequently and we have never had enough swords to begin with. What am I supposed to do?

"What about that old Master Sword? Maybe you can use that."

I shook my head. "No, the Master Sword is sealed away. I don't want to have to use it."

"And why is that?" he inquired, "Is this not a worthy cause?"

I considered it. "It is… but all I need to do is find Zelda and bring her home. It's not like I'm going up against Demise."

The fortune teller's face grew dark. "No, you're not going against Demise. But Zelda is going up against something much worse than the king of demons.. Go, reclaim the Sword of Legend, and go help your dear girl."

The look in his eyes was sincere. I got the feeling there was more that he wasn't telling me. _Something worse_ _Demise? That can't be true. What can be worse the the king of demons, the thing in which all monsters are born from?_ I shuddered at the thought. Knowing that, there was no way I _couldn't_ go find her. My mind was set; I must return to the Master Sword's resting place and reclaim my faithful weapon.

I dove through the hole in the cloud barrier, aiming myself as close as I could to the Sealed Temple. I was gaining speed pretty quickly, so I decided it would be best to open my Sailcloth earlier than usual in order to slow myself down enough to not plummet to my death.

It seemed that the winds were waiting for me to open it. As soon as I did, I was blown way off course, putting myself at more of a collision course with Kakariko. There was nothing I could do but ride the winds and hope for the best.

I ended up landing about one hundred meters West of Kakariko. I looked to the sky to see where the sun was at. _Shoot, it's already getting close to dusk._ It would take a full day's travel to get to the Sealed Temple, and it was dangerous at night. More monsters appear at night, due to their affiliation with darkness. _Should I sleep before I head out? This could end up being another long journey._ I pondered the idea, until the vision of my nightmare the day before flashed through my head. _No. I've wasted enough time as it is. Zelda is probably way ahead of me… again..._

The journey was going well. There was no signs of any monsters until the temple was in sight. However, as I approached the temple, I encountered a type of bokoblin that I had never seen before. These bokoblin had skin of pure black like coal. They seemed to be a little bit larger than the average red bokoblin. They were surrounding the Statue of the Goddess, directly on top of where the Imprisoned once lay. I kept myself hidden, watching them from atop a nearby tree. The more I looked, the more bokoblin seemed to appear from nowhere. Soon, there were hundreds of the black beasts, far too many to count. _Where are these things coming from?_

Since I had no way that I could fight that many enemies, I decided to remain hidden until I could come up with a plan.

It wasn't too long until morning, since the walk over to this point had taken pretty much all night. When the sun lit up the sky, something strange happened; the bokoblins began to panic. _Bokoblins can survive in the day just fine. What are they doing?_ The bokoblins all began falling to the ground, making horrifying screams as if in pain. After a few excruciating minutes, the bokoblins reverted to their regular red color. Upon doing so, their regular clubs and swords began appearing in their hands. They then simply stood up as normal and dispersed, wandering back into the forest in all directions.

I had no idea what to think of what I just saw. _I'll figure it out later. Right now, I need the Master Sword!_ I hopped down from my tree and made a mad dash towards the entrance of the Sealed Temple. Upon entering, I was greeted by a familiar face. One that I was sure I would never see again.

The old woman gave a wry smile. "Hello hero. What brings you here?"

My jaw hit the floor. "Impa? How are you alive? I thought…"

"I thought so too. "I'd rather not go into details of how I'm here and why, but it seems that I have unfinished business. I presume you do as well, otherwise you would not have returned."

I nodded. "I've come back for the Master Sword. Zelda's gone missing. I need to find her."

I recounted everything that had happened within the past couple days. The old warrior didn't seem phased by anything that I had said. "I've expected as such," she simply stated.

I turned my head quizzically. "What do you mean? Has something happened?"

She kept a composed face when delivering the terrible news. "It hasn't happened yet, but if Zelda doesn't return soon, it could. Demise was more powerful than Hylia anticipated, it seems. His power isn't being destroyed by the Master Sword, it's seeping out of it. His very essence is continuing to create monsters at an alarming rate, which is what you have seen outside with the bokoblins. Each day, more and more are being born from his darkness. At the rate things are going, the surface will be entirely overrun by monsters.


	4. Chapter 4

_**CHAPTER 4**_

Impa directed her gaze at the Master Sword. "Can you sense the darkness radiating from it?"

I looked at the magnificent blade that had served me so well. I extended my hand out to sense the blade. Frowning, I stated "I don't sense anything. What exactly am I supposed to feel?"

The old woman turned to me. "Truly? You cannot sense the evil? It's overwhelming. Just standing here the power makes me want to collapse."

"Well why don't I feel anything? Shouldn't I have the strongest connection to it?"

She frowned at me. "Link, this is why Zelda is the one who must fulfill this quest. You are not magically inclined. Zelda, however, possess the magic of Hylia. Only her powers can rid the land of this darkness."

"That's why Zelda left without me!?" I demanded. "So just because I can't cast fancy spells, Zelda decided she was going to take on this threat alone? How does she plan to fight off the monsters?"

"She is not as helpless as you seem to think. Remember, she received the same training you did at the Knight Academy. Her magic can also be used for offencive purposes, once she learns to control them."

I took a breath to calm myself. "I know she's not helpless. It's just… Why would she go off on her own? Why didn't she want my help?"

"You both share a certain quality. You both fear for the other's safety. No matter how courageous you think you are, you have that single fear. Zelda share's the fear of you being injured as well. Tell me, would you have wanted Zelda to join you on a quest after all you went through?"

I stared at the ground, sadly kicking a tiny pebble. "No… I would want her to return to the Sky to be safe." I raised my head to look back at her. "But she already knows I can handle myself! I defeated the King of Demons! If anything she should have been begging me to come with her."

"Link, as strong as you are, you have such a simple weakness. You're arrogant. Not every battle is your own. There are some battles that you just can't win. This is one of those battles. Demise's essence is a magical one, not a physical one. The only way to beat it in this form is by using magic. I'm afraid that no matter how skilled you are with a sword, it will do nothing to stop this."

I approached the sword. I had heard enough. "Well, even if I can't deal with the magical threats," I said as I grabbed the hilt of the sword. "I can at least deal with the physical ones."

"Link, NO!" It was too late. I had pulled the sword out from the shrine it had been resting in. Just as the sword had been removed from the shine, blackish-purple steam screamed out of the shrine. Demise's laugh filled the room. "Thank you, hero. Now my darkness will spread ten times as fast!"

Impa yelled over the sounds of evil winds. "You foolish boy! I told you this isn't your quest! You should have let it be!"

There was no time to argue. The doors of the temple flew open, with hordes of bokoblins rushing in. I raised my sword, ready to fight, but it seemed Impa had other plans. She created a magical barrier, protecting us from the seemingly endless river of monsters flowing in. "You really think you could have taken on all of these!?"

I scoffed. "Well let's find out!" I raised my sword skyward, as I had done a million times before. After letting the sword charge a few moments, I unleashed a powerful horizontal slash. I had expected the Skyward Strike to work as it always had; releasing a beam of power to cut through the enemies. Instead, it launched a different kind of beam; a black-purple beam that at first seemed to phase through the monsters harmlessly. That is until it started transforming the monsters. They turned back into the ugly Black Bokoblins that they had been last night.

These bokoblins were significantly stronger than their red versions. In an instant, the black bokoblins tore through Impa's barrier. They started swarming in, so I started swinging.

Who knows how many bokoblins I had slain. They just kept rushing in from the hole that the black ones had made. Impa was right; I couldn't hold them off forever. I was already getting tired, and there were still hundreds flowing in through the door. _If we could just get the door shut, we could make it through._

As if on cue, my prayer was answered. The door had slammed shut, preventing any more bokoblins from coming in. _Now's my chance!_ I dove through the hole in the barrier back out into the main hall. I did a spin attack to quickly dispose of a large amount of bokoblins. Then I just started slashing like crazy. I felt a renewed energy flowing through my body. My movements picked up in speed. I was hacking and slashing like never before! It only took a few minutes to slaughter the hordes within the temple, and I enjoyed every second of it. A part of me missed the adventure. I missed fighting off evil. It made me feel important; like I was making a difference.

I looked back at Impa, just as she had collapsed. I rushed to her side to help her.

"Link, watch out," a familiar voice said. "Let me help her."

I scanned the room for the owner of the voice, but I couldn't see anyone. _I could have sworn I just heard…_

"Link, you're in the way. Back up."

I did as the voice commanded. "I can't see you," I told the voice.

"Oh, I'm sorry Link." Directly in front of me, the dark hooded figure from my dream appeared. The person held their hands out towards Impa, causing a shimmering golden light to spread over her.

"Thank you," Impa said softly.

"Of course, Lady Impa." The hooded figure turned towards me. "As for you, mister." The hooded figure lowered the hood, revealing the face of none other than Zelda. "I told you not to follow me."

I could feel my face getting hot and a dopey smile cross my face. "Zelda! I'm so glad you're okay!" I wrapped her up in a hug.

Zelda's tone softened. "Yes, I'm fine, you big worry wart. I swear you turn into a big cucco when you worry about me."

I released her, instead clasping her hands into mine and smiled. "I can't help it. I couldn't bare it if I lost you again."

She returned a heart-warming smile. "I know. But that's why I didn't want you to follow me. This is a quest that's too dangerous even for you. I'd rather you just go back to Kakariko where I know you'll be safe."

I shook my head. "You know I can't do that. Not if you're out here. We're going to do this together, like it should have been the first time. I understand that this is your quest, not mine, but now that we're together, I won't let us get separated again."

Zelda giggled to herself. "Oh, you're so hard-headed. Fine. If you're not going to go home, then you have to promise me something."

"Anything for you, Zelda."

"Promise me that you'll let me do this. Promise me that you know this is my quest, and you'll help me, not try to do it _for_ me."

I held up my right hand, bowing as I said, "I promise."

Zelda smiled approvingly. "Okay. Then let's sit down and I'll fill you in on everything that's happened. I'm feeling a little dizzy after using all that magic to save your sorry butt!"

I just laughed. "I would have been just fine." She rolled her eyes lovingly.

We went over to the grassy area inside the temple and sat beneath the tree that I had traveled through time to plant. "So what did I miss?" I asked.

Zelda reached into her satchel. "A few months ago, I started receiving these letters." She held up several pieces of paper. "The letters told me about Demise. According to the letters, Demise's power was still active, and that's what's been causing monsters to appear. Apparently, he's somehow escaping from his seal in the Master Sword."

"Yeah, about that," I started, "I may have… sped up that process."

She crossed her arms. "Now what did you do?"

I scratched my head. "Well, when I pulled out the Master Sword to come find you, I heard the voice of Demise. He told me that by drawing the sword, his darkness would spread much faster."

A look of terror shot across Zelda's face. "Oh no no NO! How am I going to do this? Link, we have to get going!"

"Going? Going where?"

"Going to do what these letters say. I need to learn how to use magic."

"And just how are you going to do that?"

"Well, I've been doing it for awhile now actually." She held a palm out, and a glowing red ball appeared above her hand. "I've been sneaking out and searching for ancient temples. In these temples, spells are written on the walls. I've been learning magic for weeks now. I've found all of the hidden temples except for one here in Faron Woods. That's why I said I'd be leaving. The rest of the temples are far away, so far that people would begin to notice that I'm missing. I thought it'd be best if nobody knew."

"Well sorry to mess up your plans, Princess, but I couldn't just give you up that easily. You should have told me from the start. We probably could have gotten you through every temple in the world by now!"

She gave a challenging smile. "Oh yeah, hotshot? Then why did it take you so long to catch up to me when we first came to the Surface?"

I returned a similar smile. "Because Impa rushed you through as I kept Girihim distracted. Plus, you didn't have to fend off all those giant monsters and keep putting the Imprisoned back in the dirt."

Zelda raised her hands in false surrender. "Okay okay. You've made your point."

I raised my hands and shrugged my shoulder. "Along with helping like, everyone in Skyloft."

"Well if you're so good, help me get into the temple nearby. I've been trying to get into it all night!"

I stood up and offered my hand. "Not a problem."

We headed deep into the forest. Much deeper than I had ever been before. This part of the forest looked like it had seen war. Trees had burnt down, there were various crevices in the ground, and rubble everywhere. I squeezed Zelda's hand. "Looks like Demise is already at work here in the forest."

Zelda squeezed back. "Actually Link… I did this."

I froze in place and just looked at her.

She looked embarrassed as she tried to turn her face away as if to hide from me. "I couldn't get into the stupid thing! I tried everything. Every spell that I've learned was useless."

"You… You did all this? I had no idea you were that powerful… Wait a minute. Back in Kakariko, when the raid happened, I couldn't defend the East, but by the time I got there, there were no enemies. Was that you?"

"Yes," she admitted. "I was afraid you'd figure it out, but you didn't even bother to investigate. It's no wonder you never noticed that I would sneak off at night. Anyway, there's the temple down there."

She pointed at a hole in the ground. I probably would never have even noticed it if it hadn't been for Zelda. We locked our arms, nodded at each other reassuringly and jumped down.


End file.
